Do you have a Google Plus Social Media Sharing Account yet?  You need one! 

Whew, that’s a lot – especially if you are one of those Real Estate Agents who is actually busy selling Real Estate – and / or updating Facebook and Twitter (etc) is just pure painful, because you despise it so much!

If you fall into either one of these groups – I have a SHORT TERM suggestion, that might work, and could genuinely deliver more traffic to your Real Estate Blog.

I believe that Social Media is a Cocktail Party – and if you are going to spend time on Facebook or Twitter, but you hate every minute of it – consider creating a Marketing Campaign that involves just updating those accounts once or twice a week – and concentrate on updating Google Plus everyday.

Google Plus has initially captured the fascination of many “Geeks.”  But in a move to also appeal to the millions of Facebook Users, Google Plus got a layout change last week that makes it look a bit more like the “old” Facebook.

Unlike Facebook, there are no security settings to keep fiddling with – you share with only the people you want to update.  You can easily get the app on your “smart phone,”  and the bonus (for me) is that there virtually no ADS spamming the space!

While you are there – you should also create a G+ Business Page.  On this page, you definitely want to share those great videos you are creating and information about your listings!

If you want help with your Marketing Plan, and Generating Real Estate Internet Leads let me know!  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  All of us at Fathom Realty would love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

Today – more than ever, Real Estate Agents are expected to be great at Marketing! Not just “selling” a house, you need to know how to Market the Property – especially when it comes to marketing via the Internet. 

And if they COULD clearly bullet point the strategy, the question would be, how often are they STICKING to the Strategy?

Because, the problem for many of the Real Estate Agents I see is that they start off with a “Real Estate Marketing Strategy” – and then something new comes along, like Pinterest, and they get distracted.  It reminds me of a sibling who was A.D.D., “Oughhh, there’s something new and shiny, let’s try that!”

But Marketing is truly about having a Strategy, Sticking to It, and then Re-Evaluating. 

If you are on Twitter 24/7 for a week, then, when you haven’t gotten any leads… you go back to Facebook for 2 weeks… and then when you have no listing appointments, sink all of your extra time into FourSquare, or Color.com, or Klout… or Pinterest… you haven’t really been marketing, have you?

There’s nothing to evaluate.  There are NO Google Analytics to analyze.

I think once an agent has a Time Budget, (READ: a real “Marketing Plan For Their Real Estate Business – That They Can Stick To”)- and they understand that there’s a difference between Advertising and Marketing, they better understand what I’m referring to.  Advertising tells a story about something to attract attention.  Advertising is a step in the marketing process. In business, “marketing” is the planning of, and steps taken, to bring buyers and sellers together.  Marketing involves having a Plan, and then evaluating the results of those efforts.

If you want help with your Marketing Plan, and Generating Real Estate Internet Leads let me know!  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  All of us at Fathom Realty would love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

Look at you!  It’s right at 4 months into the New Year, and you’re keeping your Resolution to do a better job with your Real Estate Blog! 

Just like a Real Estate Listing, the page needs to be “promoted.”  Does that mean doing a “ping” so that it will by “Syndicated” to 6 or 7 places?  Nope.  That’s not going to generate the Internet Leads that you are working so hard on!

Here are five tips for generating more leads with your Real Estate Blog!

1. Write content for your AUDIENCE, not for SEO.  Yes, generating keywords in Google is important, but generating Internet leads is about creating a message that is “readable,” Unique and Relavant.  Just copying and pasting stuff you found elsewhere on the Internet is not actually doing you any good.  If you found something you like, and you would word it pretty much the same way… except… you would add (whatever) that makes it a ton more specific for YOUR area… my suggestion is that you print it out, read it, and re-write it for your blog.  Remember to change the title, and use your own pictures.  The goal is to use the other material as Inspiration, not for copying.  ”Authenticity is the key to developing a following and becoming trusted.”  What does that mean??  It needs to sound like you – not a “Big Box” Institution (or Travel Company) who’s never actually lived in your town.
2. It takes more than one page about Homes in Plano, to get found.  Remember that if you are writing about “Relocating to Washington DC” there’s more than just one page to write about.  There’s “Fun Things To Do With Kids in Washington DC,”  “Schools in Washington DC,”  “Major Medical Centers In Washington DC” (you get the picture) and at the end of each page / post you can add - “If you, or your friends are considering a move to Washington DC, remember to call (you) at (your telephone number) because we know the most about making a move to the Washington DC area  easier, if not stress free.  Remember, we have tons of fun things for kids to do in Washington, great schools in the Washington DC Area, and I can help you find a home near one of the major medical centers, if that’s important to you!”  Then LINK all of those posts to one another!
3. Don’t Over Link within a page.  A page that is basically no new information, just links to other stuff – will not do much for you.  It’s basically a waste of time.  4 to 5 links per page is a gracious plenty.
4. Create Links pointing to the new page you just created!  This is not like Baseball – just because you wrote it, and hit publish does NOT mean it’s going to get seen.  Create a Twitter campaign with different lead in statements about your “new page.”  If you are writing a page with the Title “5 things you should know about” then go to Trulia, or Activerain (or where ever) and do a shorter post that says, “A Couple of Things You Should Know About (fill in the blank)” and then tie the two together.  Share the link on Facebook – but do more than just say, “here’s something new…” Be creative!
5. Collaborate with your referral sources.  So often I talk to agents who think they have to create, and more importantly do all of the “heavy lifting” when it comes to generating links to their Real Estate Blog. Think old school!  If you are going to do print advertising, have the ad “reflect” the same look as your real estate blog site.  Get your Insurance Agent, your Home Inspector, your Financial Planner to submit guest posts to your site (just be sure that they are submitting original information – not something they copied). But more importantly, get your SOI (Sphere of Influence) to share links to your blog posts!  Have them share it on THEIR Facebook pages, on Twitter, on LinkedIn.  This is one of the BIGGEST ideas – you need people talking about what you are creating… and even if you have to “teach” your group how to be helpful, it’s worth the time to do it!

I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

Here’s are the shots from my test:

Not too shabby! In this test, the iPhone 4S’s performance made most property photos I see on the MLS look, well, lame. Keep in mind, the sky was clear and the home’s size invited the sunlight into the home beautifully. Many homes are smaller and older homes have small windows and poor lighting. That is where the iPhone will fail miserably.

There are three main problems with using the iPhone 4S.

1. The flash is nothing more than an LED bulb and will only light up a subject that is within a few feet. As you can see from my shots, the darker the subject room, the grainier the photo. Imagine if the light had been poor?
2. The lens is not wide enough to properly capture rooms 11×11 or smaller, and as you know, there are a LOT of homes with small bathrooms and secondary bedrooms. Here’s a cool tool to address the wide-angle issue: iPro Lens System
3. And now for the 500 pound gorilla in the room. Could you imagine what the seller will think if you walked through their home taking pictures with your iPhone? They will think you are out of your mind and likely fire you on the spot for not taking the marketing of their home seriously.

So would I suggest using the iPhone 4S for your real estate photography? No, sorry. Not yet. Could it be used in a pinch? Yes, absolutely, given the weather is cooperating and the home is large and bright. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and wait until you have a better camera with a good flash.

If you want to know more about taking your listing business and real estate photography to the next level, then let’s connect… I love helping agents who are trying to improve their business and learn ways to generate and convert Internet Leads! I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter? Connect with me!

I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours this week with a very successful Independent Real Estate Agent who has 18 Listings, 5 Under Contracts several Buyer Leads – all of which came, largely, from Customer Referrals.

She spends money on print ads (though only about $150 a month) and she has 3 websites – one of which is optimized, 2 that she admits probably need some help.  Her son works with her (I’m guessing he’s in his late 20′s – she’s in her early 50′s), and does much of the administrative tasks that need to be done – and her husband does the office “management” stuff, pays the bills, etc.  Additionally she has 2 licensed part time Agents who fill in, hold Open Houses and take overflow calls. She’s BUSY, and she’s generating income.

Our discussion was about Internet Leads, generating them, and how to best “Optimize” (or as she puts it “Syndicate) her efforts.  She has no Facebook Account (personal or business), she’s not really on LinkedIn (her profile is there, she’s connected to 50 people, has recommendations) – I didn’t ask about Twitter, or Yelp, or FourSquare… again, this is a woman who told me 43 times that, “She’s BUSY, and she’s generating income.”  She does not see where she or her “staff” have an additional 2 hours a week to “play” online.

She also doesn’t see a time when someone who checks into the Duncan Donuts (directly beneath her office) will ever want to come upstairs and learn more about the properties she has available… “That’s not my target audience” she kept telling me – “I don’t know how to relate to those people.”  I left the conversation thinking – She might be right!

Now that I’ve had a few more hours to consider our chat,  I have some additional thoughts:

• She does “parties” and events 4 -5 times a year – taking select groups of past customers and their families to Baseball Games, Holiday Light Tours, Golf Tournaments and custom cooking classes.  How much more mileage could she get from “Friends of Friends” if they were able to SEE her interacting with their friends?
• She does a TON of Charity Work, and integrates those Charity events in with additional opportunities to “mobilize” her past clients and their families.  Again, it seems like a “miss” to me that “Friends of Friends” and the Public don’t know much about these efforts for Non-Profits.  If she DID have a Social Media “footprint” wouldn’t she raise more for the Charities that mean so much to her?
• She has an entire WALL in her office covered with Testimonials from Past Customers… Nope, none of those are online.  You have to come to the office to see them.  I see THAT as an opportunity!
• If you are only marketing a Listing via MLS and Tour Factory – are you really getting all of the exposure for that property that it needs?  Yes, I agree that having great pictures is paramount, but even Tour Factory gives you the opportunity to send the listing to your You Tube Channel and Facebook. 

And I guess finally – I’m left wondering about the Real Reason I sought this conversation… Someone else shows up when you “Google” her Target Farm Neighborhoods.  She’s not on the first page for her target neighborhoods, when you Google her listings – Remax and Century 21 (and Fathom) show up higher than she does.  So how much business is she LOSING because she’s not taking advantage of her hard work?

Generating Internet Leads does take some time.  Creating an online “persona” doesn’t happen overnight – but my honest belief is that sometime, in the not too distant future – this Agent is going to be referred to someone who DOES check-in to Duncan Donuts, who gets the power of sharing their listing on Facebook with friends, and who will ask her why they should spend 6.5% in Commission just to have their listing on MLS and Realtor.com, when the REAL power house is GOOGLE.

If you don’t have time to “figure” all of that stuff out, then maybe you should consider working for a company that will help do some of it for you…  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their business, and want to learn ways to generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

If you have been contributing to your Real Estate Blog for several months, it might be time to check your rankings, look at the Analytics and see if you are still focusing on the keyword phrases that people are generally searching for.

The challenge becomes figuring out if your site is attracting the “focus” audience your are aiming for and finding out if there are OTHER phrases you should be using.  How do you decide if you are using the Keyword Phrases your target audience is using to search for information? (In other words – how do you measure wheather you are creating content your market wants?)  Here are some suggestions:

1. Market Research – Let’s face it, many agents are not creating focused content.  Someone told them they should be blogging, so they are writing about whatever they can think of that day… how to clean a chimney, why you need a Home Inspector, Use Me To Be Your Real Estate Agent…. they aren’t thinking, “I want to show up for Single Parents who want to buy a house.”  My suggestion?  Ask people who are NOT emotionally required to tell you what a great job you are doing, to look at your blog.  Get them to read a few pages – get their honest feedback on the question of weather you are creating interesting, relevant content.  (Hint:  Most of us are writing “over the heads” of our readers. )
2. Demographics Research –  If you have not looked at the Demographics or “Audience” research you can find from Facebook – you should.  The Facebook Ads tool is the Adwords Keyword Tool of  “demographics” or persona’s.  The  Google Double click Ad Planner is also good for understanding the demographics of existing sites. If available, Facebook Insights gives demographic data on the existing users visiting the site as well. The output of this is a set of user segments and stories or – “persona’s.”
3. Site Analytics Mining – As always, you should mine existing Analytics data (I use Google Analytics because it’s free) to understand who is visiting your real estate blog.   Keep in mind who you are trying to attract to the site, and look at the tracking to see if who you are trying to attract is actually coming to the site, or not.  Look at the Analytics to see the paths that are taking people through the site, and make sure you have landing pages appropriately set on those pages with Call to Action Points.
4. Social Listening – If you understand # tags, you can pretty easily use a set of keywords to look at the conversation around those keywords.   Depending on your area, I would also check the Conversations going on in Yelp! and see if there are any surprises when it comes to people looking for best areas to rent or buy a home.  You can also use the Bing Social Tool to monitor a phrase like “Homes in Raleigh,” and when you do this, look at the terms and phrases these folks are using too.
5. Competitive Analysis – Who are your top competitors online?  Look at the Keywords for all 3, and decide if you need to change a strategy to capitalize on one or two of those phrases.  How about the TOP First Time Home Buyer site in your area?   (Remember, you can right click on your competitors page, View Page Source and see their keywords on each page.
6. Keyword Research – Finally, the last thing you should do, when you are analyzing your Real Estate Blog Keywords is to do a Keyword Search using Google’s Adword Keyword Tool.  You will want to find 6 to 8 phrases that best target your audience, and remember that you want to use some phrases that are “High” competition, some Medium and some Low.

If you need more help working on your Keyword List, or you have questions about creating Great Blog Content, let me know!  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

We are all familiar with “Apps” for our phone, and iPad – but are you familiar with the “Apps” that are available for the Browser that you are using?  Real Estate Agents need tools that are available across the “Cloud” and if you are using a Droid (for instance) you should find these Google Tools time saving!

Not sure what these “App” things are, or if you’d use them?  Well, remember the old Internet Explorer Toolbars, that had the Weather, and a link to MSN, and whatever else on there?  These apps allow you to literally “build” your own toolbar for your browser!  Check this out – these are some of the simple apps you can add that will make your Real Estate Business generate more Internet Leads!

How to Add Apps to Chrome: I’m going to assume you already know how to add Chrome as one of your Browser options.  Once in Chrome, you can literally “Google” the term – Google Apps (or follow this link).  Once there, we think some of the tools you might want to add would include:

Yesware!  This adds Templates, tracking and Prospecting tools.  Yesware! also TRACKS the email and let’s you know when it’s been opened or forwarded. It also works with CRMs like SalesForce, Zoho or Sugar – it will export directly to it.  It will give you Team access, and gives you Pipeline  information!  It will also integrate with Droid.  (this is Waay Cool!)

Crowdbooster:  This is a Social Media Dashboard that doesn’t just give you “analytics” about how your mass email message did – it will give you Targeted Recommendations about how you can better reach the audience you are looking for and what times are most efficient to send your messages.  WOW!

Universal Contact Manager & Smart Mail: If you are part of a team, or maybe you are in a new home neighborhood, and it would make like Soooo much easier if everyone could see the same contact database – you might want to consider Universal Contact Manager.  This is a free “cloud” contact system (for up to 5000 contacts) which will work with MULTIPLE Google Apps, including Smart Mail.  Smart Mail will allows you to send our “canned” messages as auto replies, copy the folks that need to be copied, add the graphics you need – and track the progress of the email.  It is a GREAT Campaign tool (IMHO) for teams working off of a large database.

Send to Evernote & Evernote Web Clipper:  If you are dong a Listing Presentation, you might find images or information about the competition that doesn’t “fit” well into the CMA.  You can clip that information, picture, video… Tweet – and keep it in an Evernote file to pull out later!  How cool is that?

SEO For Chrome:  The SEO for Chrome app (extension) gives you easy access to Analytics, PageRank Checks, Keyword Research and competitive analysis.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know the number of links pointing to your competitor’s website, or the number of bookmarks and shares a site has?  It’s all available, and can be part of your Chrome Toolbar!

Firebug Lite for Chrome: If you do much “tweaking” with a WordPress site – you’ve probably used Firebug.  It’s one of the best web tools available when you are looking for snippets of code on a site.  It’s now available for Chrome!

Once you start browsing the tools – you will also find MULTIPLE task related tools, and note tools that allow you to make a note, set a list of tasks that need to be done, share the list and update the tasks.  Remember the Milk (for instance) is a way to add items to the household Grocery list that the people in your family can share and access!

There are also Financial Calculators that you can add to your toolbar that can be REALLY useful as you are talking to Real Estate Customers!  Remember, when you create the “custom” toolbar, once you login to Google (from the office, from your phone) you’ll have your new tools available to you!

If you need more help creating great Real Estate eMail Campaigns, or you have other tools that help your Real Estate Business, let me know!  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

If you are still using a Blackberry – you might not understand what all of the hype is about when it comes to the new iPad.

For all of the Real Estate Agents out there who have listings with “Not Pretty” pictures, I’ve got some bad news.  The newest version of the iPad is now shipping with an insane 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina screen. To put that in non- Geeky terms.. the screen on the iPad will have a better picture than the most expensive HDTVs.

This means that all of those “slightly grainy pictures” on the internet will look even worse (and probably more fuzzy) to everyone who is looking at them from the new iPad.
Ever tried to watch a standard definition TV signal on your HDTV – looks pretty horrific, right?

And it’s not just the Property Pictures that are going to need some help.  What about the pictures on your Real Estate Website that are the same ones you’ve used since 1979?  They are probably going to need to be replaced with higher resolution photos.

The iPad also Changes Video

In addition to higher resolution on the screen, the new iPad also comes with boosted antenna abilities that make it 4G LTE.  With the new LTE downlink capabilities, the new iPad should be able 10 times faster than any other device out there.

If you are a Real Estate Agent who has been hesitant to record any videos, please think about this for a minute.   High definition streaming video is going to be a reality for most consumers in the field in very short order.  Having high definition video of your homes, not just slide show tours, will be even more important!

Bottom Line for Real Estate

Again, if you are part of the Internet Explorer using Blackberry tethered Real Estate Community… you might be brough haha’ing the impact of this new technology.  But I wouldn’t be so fast. These new devices have Real Estate Applications that your PC just can’t compete with!

Apple sold almost 15.5 million iPads in the last quarter alone. As Apple CEO Tim Cook  offered during the keynote speech:

The company sold more iPads than any other (traditional) PC manufacturer sold in their entire line.

This being said, I’m always impressed with Real Estate Agents, and Agency’s who are doing it right.  I love it when success is achieved and when folks are getting positive results through the incredible work that they are doing with their Real Estate Blog.  But results don’t just come naturally, if so, all of us would be getting Internet Lead Calls after writing a few pages.

While it does take GOOD Content, I believe that there are other consistent habits and actions that the “BEST” Real Estate Blogs have that help them rise above the other chatter and receive the love from their readers, their industry, and most importantly, Google.

25 Qualities of the Best Real Estate Blogs

1. They answer the basic GEO – Hyper consumer questions first and foremost.  They do this in a way that is not “institutional” sounding and in a way that adds personal flavor for the reader.  You know this person, and you know from their words and their pictures that they REALLY live in that area.

2.  They don’t brag about themselves, their company, and why they’re so awesome.

3. They don’t waste words, and if they can say it in fewer words, or with just a picture – they do.

4. They give you information about houses you are interested in BEFORE they require you sign up.

5. They have GREAT pictures and/or video sprinkled in each post.

6. They make it readable by using short paragraphs, which are “Skimable.”

7. They include SHORT video, and video testimonials as much as possible.  Not the 3.8 minute Tour Factory Videos of their houses… real video of the parks, and restaurants near by.

8. They provide Market Statistics that THEY took time to look up!

9. They don’t  make  it mandatory to fill in a form in order to contact them – You can easily find them by phone, twitter, faecbook, sms text

10. They are very consistent in their writing schedule, and most post at least twice per week.

11. They recognize the importance of great content combined with solid SEO practices, and don’t turn their back on either one of the two.

12. They don’t like to waste the time of their readers just “repeating” generic information or Real Estate News that’s not Geo-Specific.

13. They give you solid information about the Foreclosures, Short Sales and REO property in your area…  Are Distressed Homes getting shown more than “regular” sales?  What percentage of sales in a target area were listed, and SOLD in 30 days?  These folks NAIL the numbers.

14 They don’t ignore the facts or the truth.  Some Real Estate Markets are not great.  Sometimes, it’s NOT the best Investment for a First Time Home Buyer.

15. They are the best listeners in the world because they understand that listening to customers is all they really need to do in order to have unlimited ideas for blog posts.  You’ll find that the best of the best talk about customer experiences WAY more than they talk about themselves.

16. They see themselves as “teachers” and “educators”  about their market.  Often times, the blog post they write is a direct response to a question or comment left on another post.

17. They see everything their Real Estate Team does, every way that they make tweaks in their systems, and every time they solve a problem, as an ideal blog post.

18. They attend local, state and national conventions and conferences, because they stay in tune with ALL of the forces changing the Real Estate Industry.

19.  They understand the need for building a “community,” and being involved online – but they also realize that at the end of the day, you have to actually be selling Real Estate to keep the doors open and turn a profit.  They are Real Estate Agents, who also Blog as opposed to Real Estate Bloggers.

20. They invest money into their blogging platform so it doesn’t look cheap.

21. They are willing to be imperfect, make mistakes, and learn as they go. The key is to continue to provide content, even if you have little time.

22. They hold “Community Events” to actually meet readers in person and show their gratitude and appreciation for their support.

23.  They use a Newsletter Feature (like MailChimp) to create newsletters for their subscribers.

23. They think wayyyy outside the box.

24. They use a customized CRM to keep everything connected and updated.  Their prospects hear from them on a consistent basis with a branded message.

25.  They provide information from their referral partners on a regular basis.

There are obviously other “virtues” to having a great Real Estate Blog site.  What are some of the blogs you rank as your favorites?

As always, if you have questions about creating Great Blog Content, let me know!  I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!

1. Use your Sphere of Influence to create and promote content!  Do you regularly use the same Escrow Agent, the same Insurance Agent, the same Home Inspector and the same Mortgage Loan officer?  What about a Stager?  If so, you should be asking each of them to contribute one original piece to your blog each month.  It’s important for them to know that it MUST be original, not something they copied from corporate – and it’s important to talk to them about they can help you promote your blog (and their information) on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google + (The Big 4)
2. Have a Customer write a guest post on your blog about their experience.  Testimonials are HUGE these days, so recognizing that, why don’t you approach a past client and have them do a video post or have them write a post with pictures of their new home?  In addition to this, you can hyper link to their website (about me page) to help them in their rankings too! Get them to help promote their post on the Big 4 too!
3. Ask a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador to write about the Community.  Promoting the Community and the Chamber of Commerce is ALWAYS a good idea!  Get other people’s perspective of why this is a great place to live and grow up!  Don’t have a strong Chamber?  Then interview folks from a local Bakery or Coffee Shop and offer a Coupon to your “viewers” for visiting the Shop!  Once a month you could offer a local discount for Customer Loyalty!  That way, the Coffee Shop or Bakery will be promoting you as well!
4. Proofread – As a blogger, it’s easy to get into a rush, and just blast right through a post.  But you should ALWAYS go back and proofread, to catch any errors!
5. Don’t Copy and Paste – Original Content is the BEST Content. I’ve seen comments on a TON of Forums so far this year from people who said, “I don’t like just scrapping information from other people’s websites.”   No Kidding!  Unfortunately many bloggers use images, whole articles and other copyrighted information without properly crediting the original author. If you are planning on taking any images or text from another person, it’s important that you ask permission and link back to the original source.

I love helping agents who are trying to improve their search, and generate Internet Leads!  I’d love to help you and learn more about what’s working in your market! Are you on Facebook and Twitter?  Let’s Connect!